GETTING AND STAYING MOTIVATED.

Many of you message me asking how I stay motivated? How I plan out my content for the blog? How I keep the blog going? And how I gain my inspiration?

Before I even begin to dive into motivation, let me start off by saying that somedays, I definitely am NOT motivated.

Somedays, I’d rather just say ‘f*uck it’ and stay in bed.

Somedays, I just DON’T feel like posting a blog post and instead, watch Grey’s Anatomy.

There are many days where I just don’t feel like it. Trust me. But, I do it anyways.

Why? Because I remember why I started blogging in the first place. I remember why I do it everyday. (Read the story here.) I also don’t put too much pressure on myself. After all, not posting a blog post one week, isn’t going to kill me. In fact, it’s better to post nothing, than post something as a filler. This way you clear your mind, and come back with something great. Something you actually want to discuss.

So, how do I get/stay motivated?

Well, there are so many ways one can do so. I’m going to share a few that help me wake up and want to blog.

Ultimately, the only thing that is going motivate you in life, is YOU.

You can seek inspiration, sure. But YOU are the only person that’s going to get your butt outta bed and do shit.

My blog is my business. It’s something that has grown over the years. Something I am proud of everyday. The success of my blog did not happen overnight. In fact, it took years and is still no where near where I want it to be. There’s a lot more I want to do/accomplish with it. Therefore, I need to stay motivated.

This post isn’t just for bloggers, btw. It’s for everyone that has to wake up and hustle in the morning, doing whatever it is you do. Whether you’re a student finishing college, or a single mom juggling two jobs, or a business owner, a doctor, a teacher, whatever. You get it.

EVERYONE needs a little motivation sometimes.

So, how do I stay motivated?

Here are a few of my tips:

1) Start your morning off right: If you start your morning off being a Moody Maggie, then your entire day is going to be shit. I can tell you that much. Get up and be grateful for something. If all you’re grateful for is waking up, then that’s enough. I like to start my morning off with a little gratitude prayer. After all, I survived the night, and woke up to a gorgeous day. (Unless of course it’s raining….that’s a buzz kill). Some people write down things they are grateful for every morning. Trust me, I’d LOVE to do this. And maybe I’ll work on this, but mornings are not my thing. You know this from reading this post.

2) Content Planning: This one is a big one for me. With having a full-time job, it can be difficult to keep up with the blog sometimes. Between my FT job and the blog, this leaves very little room for a social life. Don’t get me wrong. You can still have one. You just need to plan yourself out a bit better. This means, planning out your content in advance. I try to plan out my content a month in advance. This doesn’t mean I have a months worth of blogs already written out. NO NO. This just means, I have planned out what I’d like to have posted this month. I like to spread out my topics on the blog, so I sticky-note my monthly editorial calendar with all my ideas. It can be a bit of a mess, but it works for me. Some people are very digital, and have everything online. My editorial calendar is very much hand-written. This way I can see everything, and where I need to fill in blog posts. If you’re more of a digital planner, you do you!

3) Lists:You guys already know how much I love lists, so I won’t go too much into this one. I like to create lists on lists. Really, these lists save my life. Time is extremely valuable, so don’t waste it. Make your lists and cross shit off. In fact, always start with the most difficult task first. This way, you breeze through the rest. On Saturday mornings I ALWAYS start off my day with creating a list of things I need to get done. This can include editing photos, shooting a bunch of content, and then of course, groceries, laundry, vacuuming, etc. I rarely do any blog writing on Saturdays as there is usually too much else going on.

4) Give Yourself a Break: This is something a lot of you don’t know. When you’re feeling uninspired, take a break. There is nothing wrong with giving yourself some time to recoup. We all need that from time to time. In fact, giving yourself a break, can give you a new perspective on things. When I’m constantly working, I can sometimes feel really uninspired. That’s when I know my mind needs a break. Maybe it’s just a few hours away from the laptop, or maybe it’s a few days. Whatever you need to refresh your mind, do it.

5) Squash The Negative Thoughts: It’s easy to get sucked into negative thoughts sometimes. There are negative people ALL around us, waiting for us to fall on our faces. Remember, it’s okay to fall; just get back up when you do. Surround yourself with people who support your dreams and goals. In fact, talk to them and feed off their positive energy. Even though all they may say is something obvious like, “you’re doing amazing things” or “great job” or “keep at it” it’s still better than hearing nothing from a Negative Nancy. When you surround yourself with positive people, I PROMISE you, positive things will start happening.

Okay so what about you guys? What’s your secret to getting/staying motivated? Share!

On another note, this two-piece is really one of my faves right now. I mean, it’s a little out there, and we haven’t had the best weather for this, buttttt cuuuute right?! It’s also on sale for $8.99! I feel like I need to vacay it up in the South of France (rosé in hand) and really rock this two piece to it’s fullest, you know?